Page 29 of Tears of Gold

A knock sounds on the door, and one of Anik's servants cracks it open and speaks through the gap. “The empress is on her way,” he announces.

Anik swears and springs up, grabbing a linen napkin from the sideboard. He wipes away his blood, wisely pocketing the evidence.

With a glare that promises retribution, he approaches. I’m so weak, I can’t even draw up a shield right now, and I hold myself rigid as he kisses my cheek.

“Until next time, baby brother. I shall look forward to our next meeting.” He quivers with barely suppressed rage as he spins and leaves, the door banging loudly enough behind him to set off fireworks in my head.

Chapter Twelve

Erritt

The atmospheric pressure in the room drops as Anik leaves and I sink to my knees, vomiting on the floor as my body violently protests every movement.

But there’s no time to waste; I can’t let my mother catch me like this. Shame prickles through me as it does every time I consider the secrets she doesn’t know—things no mother should have to discover about their child. Nothing good ever comes of her finding out about the things her eldest son does, and any friction in the family stresses her badly, since she knows as well as I that Anik can’t be held accountable.

Ever since my friend got caught in the crossfire years ago, I haven’t been able to trust either of my parents. It’s just another part of the mask I wear daily as a royal. But today, that mask feels like it’s splintering.

I gasp for air and lean against my knees, shaking. Every part of me burns like a viper’s poison, and I can’t see straight. Staggering, I limp to the door.

In the hallway, a servant paces, chewing on his fingernails. He swings about as the door clicks and stares at me, alarm creasing his face. No doubt Anik's aide held him out here.

"Your Highness?" he asks, taking a knee.

“At ease. Inform the . . . empress I will . . . attend her in . . . in two hours.” I blink, desperately trying to stop the room from spinning. “Please send . . . the chief . . . physician to my rooms . . . no, send for Anik’s personal physician. And have someone clean . . . t-this office.” Anik’s physician is a safer bet for my condition not getting back to the emperor.

“At once.” He types into his pager, eyes flicking continually to me as I stagger a few steps to lean on the wall. "Please may I assist you, my prince?”

I peer at him through my aching eyes. He's an older retainer whom I remember from my younger days. “Y-you . . . are Sunshi?”

He bows his head. “Thank you for remembering me, Your Highness.”

I nod. My breath comes too fast, and the ceiling dips toward me. “Help me . . . to my room.”

Talking is too hard, so I likely can’t manage walking alone. I lift my arm. He hesitates to touch me, but after taking another quick look at my face, he slips under my arm. I slump against him, and he half-carries me into one of the shadowed servants' tunnels.

∞∞∞

The physician’s eyes water as he finishes securing my new bandages, his lips pinched tightly together. Despite his horror, his hands remain steady. No doubt he’s seen this sort of thing plenty of times while serving Anik. My brother seemed to know precisely what he was doing to remove my qi core from my body, which suggests practice.

A knock sounds on my door, and Sunshi answers it, informing my visitor that I'm not seeing guests. In the outer room, Vanrey threatens to take the man's head off if he’s not granted entry.

My stomach lurches from the effort as I call out to let him enter, my voice barely rising above a whisper. Vanrey strides in, a thundercloud on his face. He pulls up short when he sees me, eyes widening. His glance takes in the physician, the fresh bandage on my chest, the bloodied old tunic, and the ice I hold against my throbbing head.

A fascinating array of expressions shadow his face, turning it dark red. “Is treatment complete?”

The physician recaps his last bottle. “Yes.”

“Then get out,” he barks at Sunshi and the medic. They look to me for orders, and I nod.

“Where i-is she?” I ask as the door shuts.

“This is exactly why I didn't want to leave you alone!” he snaps, holding up the bloodied strips of my old bandages for inspection. All my freshly sealed wounds tore open when Anik leaned on me. “He found you, didn’t he?”

“It’s just . . . a few . . . bruises,” I mumble. So far, he doesn’t know the state of my qi. “Did you . . . locate them?”

He sighs. “No, my lord. There's no sign of her, and I can’t pick up the rogue’s qi in the mess out there. I came only to report before returning. Shall I message . . . your other friend to come, or perhaps enlist a squadron?”

I struggle to wrap my thoughts into some form of coherency with every nerve on fire. “Is there . . . fighting in the s-streets?”